Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-10-19
W. O. T. O.

The following is @ report of the w. O..
L. q. work during the past year and q
review OF the annual address of Mrs.
Barker, president of the Dakota union:
The growth of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union in the past year has
been wonderful, when we consider the
vastness of the field, the limited means
at Our command and that the work OF
organizing and lecturing has been most
ly done by n person.
/ wish l could give you an ides Of the
enthusiasm we all felt ut the couts .tion
as we realized from time to time, o.&sng
Its sessions, what q wonderful advance
had been made in all lines of work last
closed.
Last year there were eight hundred
and twenty members of the w. O. T. o.,
in this territory. This year we have
nineteen hundred. One thousand and
eighty increase OF paying members over
last year.
| My friends, do we realize what this
means for the homes in Dakota2
Do we fully understand what q
promise all these added m are of
earnest, faithful work in the different
lines of service given Ms to do?
1t is OF great moment that so many
more than ever before are interested and
working for God and home end native
land. Who can estimate the influence
those new recruits Will exert, and if each
one will bring into the service ten times
one, our forces will be SO strong that
with God on our side We may confidently
expect that ere long we shall see oul
state redeemed from the curse of the
lIiquor trafi.. When we remember that al
the first territorial meeting held ss Sioux
Falls four years & there we're nineteen
delegates, and compare that time witt
the convention held last month with one
hundred and thirty.fve delegates and
as many visitors we are led to exolaim
"What hath God wrought? ?"
The great advance in numbers mean
more, much more to Dakota than sc
many dollars paid into the treasury. Ii
means go many more working and pray
ing for the redemption of Dakota. II
means that many mothers have beer
awakened as from sleep to the great re-
~sponsibility resting upon them, and tina
many OF our girls have found that Their
is q better way opened before then il
life thar the frivolous and unsatistyipl
pleasure gay society affords.
There has also been o greater amour
of temperance literature read than eve
before. l wish l eoald give the numbe
of leaflets of every kind that have BEEF
distributed in Dakota the past year, blu
| cannot. There has been o GROWN,
demand upon our Woman's Temperate
Publication association, which is yer.
encouraging, for if the people read, the
capnot help becoming interested.
There are five hundred and forty 81.
Union Signals taken, beside q larg
number subscribed for at the convention
by those who had never taken it before
. There have been t%hirty-one Woman
!, Christian Temperance unions organize
, during the year, and twelve s.Y's," givin
us in ell one hundred and forty-thre
"W'e" and sixteen sY's."
4 Much of this successful work the pa
year is due to the untiring energy Of OF
beloved president, Mrs. Barker. 81
/ hos labored faithfully in every intere
pertaining TO our work. Her faith
God and the women of Dakota has bee
wonderful. She has been ably assiste
in all her efforts by very efficient Office
and superintendent Of the different d.
= psrtmepfs.
L wish it might have been possib
itCT Oil present TO nave G6aFu n6I u
dress. Those of US who were permit,
to hear her will never forget Il
earnestness with which she spoke. 81
i claimed that '.the struggle OF eve
battle field has been between liberty al
bondage. Liberty has been the rail-,
ing cry that has l. stlgated every revol
). ton and brought about every reform d
world has aver known" She says 50
claim to be q free nation, and yet q
millions Of our people are slaves. und
W q bondage as much worse than Aftic
slavery as the soul is above the body,
|, eternity is beyond time. These sis,
are to-day clanking chains forged a
'e riveted by q tyrant more relentless th
o. King George, more u~nscrupulcus th
or Mark Antony, more mighty than Oses
more cruel than Nero. The battle IL
to day is enlisting the thong
and energy of so many people, is
rs the emancipation of thege alav
to and for the breaking up Of the syst
Of that is adding yearly its hundreds
thousands to this procession, that
the last five years has carried more n
Ito drankards' graves than fell on b.